Energy stocks move into the green

SteveGelsi

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks joined the rally Monday as oil, natural gas and oil services shares bounced back from losses from the previous week, even as crude oil prices retreated.

In recent sessions, energy stocks have resisted some of the gains in the broad market, but that changed to start the new week, as jitters over the financial sector eased.

The Amex Oil Index
XOI, -1.38%
rose 1.1% to 1,339. Anadarko Petroleum
APC, -1.13%
jumped 3% to $62.56 and Sunoco
SUN, -3.08%
rallied 3.3% to $57.52 as leading gainers from the gauge. Last week, the Amex Oil Index ended at 1,324, down 57 points, or 4% from its level of 1,381 on March 14.

The Amex Natural Gas Index
XNG, -2.10%
jumped 1.8% to 581. Devon Energy Corp.
DVN, -2.50%
rose 3% to $99.16 as a leading riser from the group. Last week, the Amex Natural Gas Index ended at 571, down nearly 6% from its close of 607 on March 14.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Index
OSX, -2.20%
rose 1.9% to 264. Tidewater Inc.
TDW, +0.19%
jumped 6% to $51.91 as a leading gainer from the group. Last week, the gauge ended off 6% from its close of 277 on March 14.

Crude prices rose off their lows, but still fell, giving up 98 cents, or 1%, to close at $100.86 a barrel. Natural gas prices rose. See Futures Movers.

The Newedge Group said in a note Monday that the floor price for crude oil now ranges between $80 and $90 a barrel as the market balances higher Asian demand and tight supplies against a weaker macroeconomic outlook.

Among firms in the spotlight, drilling specialist Grey Wolf
GW
drew an upgrade to hold from sell at Citigroup. Shares rose 5% to $6.19.

Natural gas auction fetches $1 bln

The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service said Monday it expects to gross more than $1 billion in the sale of more than 124.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas in three Royalty in Kind gas sales conducted this month.

Shell, Exxon firm could be sold for $4 bln

Infineum, a fuel-additives company owned by Royal Dutch Shell
RDS.A, -0.98%
and Exxon
XOM, -0.86%
could fetch a price of nearly $4 billion, according to reports in U.K. newspapers. Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts are among several private equity firms interested in buying Infineum, the Telegraph reported on Sunday.

Apollo Management, BC Partners, Cinven, and Vestar are the other firms planning to submit bids for Infineum, the newspaper reported.

Formed as a joint venture between ExxonMobil Chemical Company, a division of the Exxon Mobil Corporation, The Shell Petroleum Company Ltd. and Shell Oil Company, Infineum became fully operational in 1999.

The company has its corporate center in Milton Hill, near Abingdon in the U.K., with three regional business centers in Singapore, Milton Hill and Linden, N.J.

Iraq opens up bids for gas field

Iraq's Oil Ministry has invited international companies to bid for the development of the Akkaz natural gas field, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Sunday. The ministry set the closing date for receiving bids as April 24.

BP facing Russian probe

The Times (of London) reported that BP's
BP, -1.47%
Siberian oil fields are to be investigated by Russia's environmental agency. According to the article, BP said it has been expecting an investigation, since the agency conducts one every two years.

Conoco's Jim Mulva gets $15 mln in pay

ConocoPhillips
COP, -1.69%
CEO Jim Mulva earned a pay package valued at about $15.1 million in 2007, according to the company's preliminary proxy statement.

Mulva, who has chaired ConocoPhillips' board since October 2004, received a salary of $1.5 million, a performance bonus of $3,442,500 and other compensation of $387,647.

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